Cowan reveales he was desperate to make an instant impression at Irish following his summer switch from Worcester Warriors

Blair Cowan is quickly proving that he is one of London Irish’s fittest players in pre-season training.

And Exiles’ new back-row forward claims a huge amount of credit for that should go to his mum.

Cowan knows better than to take it easy in front of his mother Joan, a veteran triathlete.

His training regime is never going to look excessive alongside her Ironman 2.4-mile swims, 112-mile cycle rides and marathon 26.2-mile runs – all without a break.

Cowan revealed he was desperate to make an instant impression at Irish following his summer switch from Worcester Warriors.

And the 27-year-old was concerned that his new team-mates might be ahead of him in the fitness stakes because they had returned to pre-season training last month, while he was still at home in New Zealand.

But his mother was always going to ensure he returned to England in good shape.

Cowan said: “The boys started on June 3, but I was back in New Zealand and I had that in the back of my head.

“I was trying to do as much extra as I could because I did not want to come back and be the guy who was behind everybody else.

“All you can do is work hard at training and try to impress.

“My mum is into her Ironman triathlons.

“She does quite a few endurance sports.

“She is 52 and recently completed her first full Ironman. She’s a big inspiration to me.

“She dragged me out and did a bit of cycling and running. I was also doing a lot of top-ups on weights.”

Cowan has kept an eye on his mum’s progress, even when he’s been on the other side of the world.

On the same day that he was helping Worcester to an impressive bonus-point win over Wasps in March, his mum was competing with 1,450 others in the New Zealand Ironman.

Cowan recalled: “You can keep track of competitors online. I came off at half-time and ran to my phone to check where she was. She had just started the bike ride. That got me motivated for the next half.”

He went on to score a try as Worcester beat Wasps 29-26, while his mum recorded a very respectable time of 15 hours and 18 minutes to finish 28th in her category at the world renowned triathlon at Taupo.

Cowan’s stamina and determination has already impressed the coaching staff at London Irish.